Mississippi University for Women’s Historic Poindexter Hall Outfitted with One Systems Speakers

Article posted on Dec 13, 2012

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Nashville, Tennessee - One Systems, a leading manufacturer of professional high intelligibility, direct weather loudspeakers, was chosen for installation in historic Poindexter Hall, Mississippi University for Women’s (MUW) music recital hall in Columbus, MS. The installation includes One Systems 115RW and 103IM speakers. Audio Communications Consultants of Memphis, Tennessee was awarded the contract for the installation.

The Music Hall, or its original moniker, “Temple of Music”, was built in 1905 for the growing music department on MUW’s campus. As one of MUW’s 23 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, Poindexter Hall has seen performances by famous musicians and dignitaries such as Ignace Paderewski and United States President William H. Taft.

Due to the state of its aging structure, $9.5 million dollars was spent to renovate Poindexter Hall beginning in 2009, and was completed in fall, 2012. The newly renovated one hundred and seven year oldtheatre will continue to host a variety of musical acts, speakers and small ensembles.

Along with structural and aesthetic upgrades, Poindexter Hall was also in need of an acoustical upgrade. The loudspeakers and acoustical alterations were blended together with the room finishes to meet the demands of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

“Our biggest challenge was to employ a full range sound system with appropriate coverage patterns in tandem with limitations on placement, geometry, and visibility. Knowing Mike O’Neill and his engineering work, it was apparent that One Systems' two way speakers were an excellent choice for the application,” says Dave Woolworth, Principal of Oxford Acoustics, Inc. of Oxford, MS, and co-consultant with Will Roland of Gracenote Consulting on the project. “Architect Pryor-Morrow was receptive to our approach and made the final product possible.”

The size and shape of the 115RW’s helped create a non-obtrusive look, minimizing the aesthetic impact on the auditorium. The speakers were all hidden and each 103IM was surface mounted, while the 115RW’s were covered with acoustically transparent fabric.

“The reason we chose One Systems is because of the clear and even reproduction of speech signals, the variety of mounting options, and enclosure size,” says Woolworth. “The client is very pleased with the performance of the speakers, as are we.”

“One Systems breadth of models delivers impressive output and has very versatile mounting options. We are delighted that our speakers are able to provide outstanding coverage in such a beautiful, historic venue,” says Doug MacCallum, President of One Systems.